NCAA News Wire
Top 25 roundup: Oregon pulls off upset of No. 9 Utah
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon got the win it needed to boost its NCAA Tournament hopes with a 69-58 upset of No. 9 Utah Sunday afternoon in Pac-12 Conference men’s basketball at Matthew Knight Arena.
Freshman forward Dillon Brooks led Oregon with 19 points and scored 11 straight Oregon points down the stretch to lead the Ducks to the win. Guard Joseph Young added 14 points and forward Elgin Cook had 12 for Oregon.
Oregon improved to 20-8 and gave its NCAA hopes a jolt with its first win over a team in the top 40 of the RPI rankings. The Ducks are in third place in the Pac-12 Conference at 10-5.
Guard Delon Wright scored 20 points to lead Utah, which fell to 21-5 overall and 11-3 in conference play.
No. 2 Virginia 51, Florida State 41
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — On a night when the Oscars awards the best of cinematic achievements, second-ranked Virginia tussled with Florida State in a game that would have been more suited for the Razzies.
The Cavaliers gutted out their 25th win of the season with a victory over the Seminoles at John Paul Jones Arena.
Florida State (15-13, 7-8) was held without a field goal for the final 10:33 of the second half and scored just four points during that stretch. The Seminoles shot a woeful 33 percent from the field on the night and turned the ball over 14 times.
Virginia (25-1, 13-1) guard London Perrantes exited the game with 14:39 remaining after a nasty collision with fellow guard Malcolm Brogdon. Perrantes did not reenter the game.
No. 13 Wichita State 62, Evansville 43
WICHITA, Kan. — No. 13 Wichita State kept pace with No. 11 Northern Iowa atop the Missouri Valley Conference with a win over Evansville at Koch Arena.
The Shockers held the Aces to 15-of-48 shooting and forced 13 turnovers.
WSU (25-3, 15-1 MVC) plays at third-place Indiana State on Wednesday before Northern Iowa visits Koch Arena for one of the Valley’s biggest games since the 1980s. Evansville (19-9, 9-7) ended a three-game win streak and plays at Northern Iowa on Wednesday.
WSU junior guard Fred VanVleet handed out five assists to become WSU’s career leader with 431, passing Toure Murry with a one-handed pass to freshman forward Rashard Kelly for a layup late in the game. VanVleet scored 22 points, 18 in the first half, and grabbed eight rebounds.
Michigan 64, No. 24 Ohio State 57
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Injury-riddled Michigan snapped a five-game Big Ten losing streak by beating 24th-ranked Ohio State.
The Wolverines (14-13, 7-8 Big Ten) built a big lead early and then withstood several runs by the Buckeyes (19-8, 8-6).
Guard D’Angelo Russell led the Buckeyes with 16 points, while freshman forward Keita Bates-Diop added 12.
Ohio State, battling for a first-round bye in the conference tournament, connected on just three of its first 10 shots, while Michigan came out on fire.
